Death
The ancient Egyptians identified the dead with the god Osiris, who had been murdered and brought back to life.
They believed that the dead could, like the god, live again. Ideas and beliefs about what happened after death changed over the 6,000 years of ancient Egyptian history.
What did not change was the idea that people had to make special preparations in their lifetime for their burial.
The ancient Egyptians believed that their bodies needed to survive after death as a home for their ka (part of the spirit of a dead person). They believed that the ka could travel between this world and the Afterlife. If a body was destroyed, the ka might not survive forever, so families ensured that the bodies of their dead were preserved through mummification.
Each stage of mummification and burial had to follow a set ritual.
Amulets (protective charms) were wrapped in the bandages. Prayers were painted on the coffin or the walls of the tomb, or written on papyrus (paper made from reeds), to give further protection for the body and its ka
They believed that the dead could, like the god, live again. Ideas and beliefs about what happened after death changed over the 6,000 years of ancient Egyptian history.
What did not change was the idea that people had to make special preparations in their lifetime for their burial.
The ancient Egyptians believed that their bodies needed to survive after death as a home for their ka (part of the spirit of a dead person). They believed that the ka could travel between this world and the Afterlife. If a body was destroyed, the ka might not survive forever, so families ensured that the bodies of their dead were preserved through mummification.
Each stage of mummification and burial had to follow a set ritual.
Amulets (protective charms) were wrapped in the bandages. Prayers were painted on the coffin or the walls of the tomb, or written on papyrus (paper made from reeds), to give further protection for the body and its ka